A week later, Felicity once again received Monique’s intrusion and entertained her. This time’s tea party was held on the terrace.

Monique sipped the tea Felicity had prepared, relaxing with a soft, “ho~” at the taste before returning to her senses.  With a slight blush, she gave her usual evaluation of, “Well, it’s not bad.”  As Felicity had heard Monique’s preferences from Beatrix, she shouldn’t have any complaints regarding the selection of tea.  Naturally, none regarding the preparation either.

“Your hair is caught in your earring.”

Monique noticed as Felicity took a sip of her tea and stood up as if to say, “I guess it can’t be helped.”

She approached Felicity with the intention to untangle the snag and said, “Excuse me,” and touched her hair.  Her eyes opened wide the next moment, as if a shock had run through her.

“It’s so- so silky…!”

The feel of Felicity’s hair seemed to have given her quite the shock.  It was a very understandable feeling.

“My, thank you very much. The maids tend to it carefully.”

“What oil do you use? Could it be from my aunt’s favorite cosmetics brand?  Not only does that company have excellent cosmetics, their hair care products are of such quality, no other place has been able to imitate them. In fact, mimicking them is said to be difficult.  They use special ingredients, so the volume of distribution is low and they are hard to obtain.  They’re always the center of conversation in high society among young ladies and madams— haa.”

Monique came to her senses amid her passionate words and gave an exaggerated cough.

“I-It’s nothing. Forget I said anything.  I haven’t fallen so low as to accept salt from my enemy.  I also take great care of my hair and skin.  I can take pride in it.”

“Fufu, yes. I can see the effort you put in simply by looking at you.”

Monique must be particularly concerned about her appearance.  Naturally, it was she could catch the eye of one she loved.

“I’ve untangled it.”

Monique finished untangling Felicity’s hair from her earring.  Then, as if something had caught her attention, she stared at Felicity’s neck.

“Oh my, could that be a bug bite…?”

On her neck, not completely hidden by her collar, was a red mark.  It stood out against her pale skin.  Looking a bit bashful, Felicity covered it with her hand.

“Yes, indeed.  A bug bite, it’s a bug bite.”

Monique felt something was off with Felicity’s reaction, and thought for a moment.  Then, it came to her.

It wasn’t a bug bite, but a mark of affection, or perhaps of possession, as it was commonly referred.  As for who left that mark on Felicity’s neck, that was obvious even without thinking about it deeply.  It could only be one person.

“It isn’t.  That’s… not, from a bug.”

Felicity’s gaze lowered as she realized Monique had realized the truth.

“He’s quite the troublesome person.  Thanks to him, I’ve lately had no choice but to wear dresses that reveal as little skin as possible…”

Monique understood that a violently dark, muddy emotion was starting to swirl within herself. The one before her was the lover who had stolen the heart of the man she had always admired, respected, and pursued.  She was a complete stranger who’d just appeared, yet she was deeply loved by him.

She had never once even seen as someone of the opposite sex by Ethelbert.  Far from that, she hadn’t even been of much interest to him.

Ethelbert had little interest in anything outside magic. When it came to the emperor and empress, their children, and the duke and duchess of Adlenon, he regarded them as family.  Those around them could clearly see that he saw them as special.  Monique, however, was merely looked after to an extent because she was Beatrix’s niece.

He purely did so out of a sense of obligation, not once because he himself had any real interest in her.  No matter how much she honed her magic, no matter how much she polished her appearance, she could never catch his attention.

That was why she could never accept the sudden appearance of a lover, of a girl who wasn’t even a magician and whose origins were unknown.

“If that’s the case—if the duke’s daughter were driven away, wouldn’t Lady Monique then have her chance?”

The voice of Monique’s friend, a friend who always earnestly listened to her worries, came to mind.

“I think Monique is the one most suitable to be His Highness the Imperial Brother’s wife.”

“Besides, her origin’s aren’t even clear.  Isn’t that just suspicious?  I’m sure she just approached His Majesty for his wealth and power.  If you provoke her a little, she’ll no doubt show her true colors.”

“—His Imperial Highness along with the Duke and Duchess are being deceived.  Lady Monique, you have to save them.”

Monique didn’t know if they were being deceived or not.  She thought the possibility highly likely, but Ethelbert at the very least was certainly in love with Felicity.

He chose Felicity—not Monique.

Jealousy swelled within her.  As if responding to that ugly surge of emotion, her magic also began to rampage.  Wind whipped about all around her.  Monique snapped back to her senses.

This is bad! I have to contain it… or it’ll go out of control…!

She desperately tried to calm her heart, but to no avail.  Instead, her magic was overflowing.

Magic could run wild when emotions flared. This often happened with young children who lacked skill and control over their emotions.  The circulation of magic within their bodies would become disordered, and magic would start to pour out.  That overflowing power would then trigger a phenomenon.  The nature of those phenomenon differed depending on the type of magic.  Monique’s magic, which was suited to wind-based spells, created storm-like gusts.

The wind around her grew fiercer, blowing away even the table and chairs.  Catching sight of that from her peripheral, Monique lifted her face.

Felicity was right there.  She was very close by.

I’ve injured her, she thought.

As a non-magician, Felicity had no way to protect herself from the gales of wind or flying debris whipped up by them.

Monique’s eyes had grown moist with fear and regret.  She was terrified at the possibility of having injured another.  She and regretted her own helplessness at being unable to control her magic.  However, when Felicity’s appearance came into view, her eyes widened.

A thin, hemispherical membrane of light covered Felicity.  It protected her from Monique’s magical power.

This was undoubtedly the result of magic.  Moreover, it seemed to be a high-level spell formation, likely designed to activate automatically upon detecting danger, regardless of the caster’s will.

“How…? You shouldn’t be a magician…”

“I’ve been made to carry various magical tools for my protection.”

Monique stared at Felicity’s hair accessory upon hearing that. Then she examined her earrings, necklace, and other jewelry.

“Tanzanite…”

After checking them all, she muttered softly.

She now understood who those gifts were from.  She understood even though she had tried so hard until now not to care.

“…Why?”

“Lady Monique.”

“…Why? Why not me?!  I’ve always been by his side… I’d been chasing him for so long…!”

Even though Monique was crying out in tears, Felicity calmly met her gaze.  Her unwavering composure only further fueled Monique’s anger.

Despite not being a magician, Felicity didn’t feel the slightest bit of fear toward the rampaging magical power. That strength was infuriating.  At the same time, Monique hated herself for losing control of her magic at her age.

“—That’s enough.”

A familiar voice suddenly interrupted, leaving Monique stunned.

“Lord Ethel.”

“Lord Ethelbert…”

Before anyone had noticed, Ethelbert had come to stand beside Felicity.  His eyes pierced through Monique, and she was seized by fear.

He’s disappointed in me.

As Monique trembled, Ethelbert’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Sleep for now. We’ll talk once things have settled.”

“W-what…?”

Monique was suddenly overcome by drowsiness. Her consciousness escaped her.

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